Prevalence of Cannabis Use Among Medical Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Papazisis, Georgios; Siafis, Spyridon; Tsakiridis, Ioannis; Koulas, Ioannis; Dagklis, Themistoklis; Kouvelas, Dimitrios

doi:10.1177/1178221818805977

Cited by 34 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Moreover, the rates of past year use were significantly higher for males for all types of illicit drugs, except synthetic cannabinoids and heroin (where numbers were very small overall). These findings lend support to previous studies from student populations that also report higher illicit drug use among males [e.g., (31)]. We found geographical differences in proportions of past year drug use, in which students in the Oslo area had either the highest or as high past year use across all substances compared with other areas.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Still, no research exists concerning the distribution of a wider array of illicit drug use among Norwegian University and college students, something which needs to be addressed. Moreover, prevalence rates of illicit drug use tend to vary substantially across countries in the general adolescent ( 29 ), adult ( 30 ), and student population ( 31 ), and rates of drug use vary over time even within a given country [e.g., ( 32 )]. In addition, illicit drug use may vary considerably across geographical areas within a country [e.g., ( 19 )].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self-Reported Illicit Drug Use Among Norwegian University and College Students. Associations With Age, Gender, and Geography

et al. 2020

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Background and Aims: Several studies have pointed to relatively high levels of illicit drug use among students in higher education compared to the general population. The aim of the present study was to provide an updated examination of self-reported illicit drug use among Norwegian University and college students.Methods: Data stem from the SHoT study (Students' Health and Well-being Study), a nationwide cross-sectional survey for higher education in Norway including Norwegian full-time students aged 18–35. Self-reported illicit drug use across a range of specified drugs comprised the outcome variables. Information on gender, age, and study location (geographical area) was also collected and used as stratification variables. The SHoT-survey from 2018 (N = 50,054) was used for the analyses of associations between demographical variables and illicit drug use, while trends in illicit drug use were estimated by comparing the 2018-results with data from the SHoT-surveys conducted in 2010 and 2014.Results: The proportion of students reporting having ever tried illicit drugs increased from 2014 to 2018, for both males (30.8 vs. 36.7%) and females (17.5 vs. 24.0%, both p < 0.001), while only minimal changes occurred between 2010 and 2014. The most commonly used illicit drugs during the past 12 months in 2018 were cannabis (15.2%), followed by MDMA (4.0%), cocaine (3.0%), and LSD/psilocybin (2.1%). Illicit drug use showed both linear increase with age, and inverted U-shaped relationships that peaked in the age span from 23 to 28 years of age. Males reported higher illicit drug use compared with females for all drugs. Proportions of illicit drug use varied across geographical areas within the country, with the highest use being reported in the Oslo area (the largest city and capital of Norway).Conclusions: The present study reports an increase from 2010 to 2018 among Norwegian University and college students in the proportion of those reporting to have tried illicit drugs. Despite varying proportions of use across type of drug, age, gender, and geographical location, the overall high levels of illicit drug use past 12 months confirm the need to address illicit drug use in this population.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Reported Illicit Drug Use Among Norwegian University and College Students. Associations With Age, Gender, and Geography

et al. 2020

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“…Nevertheless, the observed trend is towards similar consumption rates for all substances in both genders [30]. Despite the increasing prevalence of recreational cannabis use among the young population [40] and medical students [41], mainly for its rewarding effects [42,43], the use of cannabinoids among students might also be explained by their anxiolytic, antidepressant, and sleep-promoting effects [44] as a means to mitigate the effects of exposure to different stressors and burnout [11,45,46]. The use of both alcohol and cannabis may affect the current academic performance of students [47], and they may also contribute to misjudgments and misperceptions as future nurses towards patients with substance use disorders [48].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol and Cannabis Intake in Nursing Students

Tejedor-Cabrera

Cauli

2019

Medicina

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Background and objectives: Drug misuse among young people has become a major worldwide health concern. The present study analyzes substance misuse and its social and personal consequences in young university students. Materials and Methods: Screening of alcohol misuse was based on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), while screening of substance-related risks and problems was performed with the Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends, Trouble (CRAFFT) score. Results: The population was composed of nursing students at the University of Valencia (Valencia, Spain) (n = 185). More than 50% of the surveyed students reported alcohol intake based on the CRAFFT scale; 31.4% were classified as having “risky alcohol use”, and 19.5% met the criterion for hazardous drinking based on the AUDIT score. In turn, 34.1% of the sample reported marijuana/hashish intake based on the CRAFFT scale. A gender effect was only observed for marijuana/hashish use, which was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in male students. No other gender differences were observed. In the logistic regression analysis, only age was identified as a protective factor for obtaining a reduced risk score with both the AUDIT and the CRAFFT. Among the social and personal consequences of drug misuse, the inability to “stop drinking once you have started” or the inability to “remember what happened while consuming” was significantly associated with an increased frequency of alcohol consumption (OR 20.93, p < 0.0001 and OR 13.68, p < 0.05, respectively). Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with emerging social concerns about drug misuse in the university population, including nursing students as future healthcare professionals.

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“…This result is in agreement with the findings of previously published studies. For instance, in a recent meta-analysis of 25 studies that had investigated past-month cannabis use in medical students, Papazisis et al found an estimated prevalence of 8.8% [ 4 ]. Although published results are rather heterogeneous, when considering studies assessing larger cohorts, the data nevertheless seems in keeping with our results [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While one might expect that the prevalence would be high during late adolescence and early adulthood, there are studies indicating that the recreational use of cannabis is not limited to this demographic. For instance, a 2018 systematic review on cannabis use by medical students reported a past-month use of cannabis by 8.8% of students [ 4 ]. It has been proposed that the rate of cannabis use among medical students is associated with exposure to diverse stressors and an attempt to prevent burnout [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affective Temperament Traits and Age-Predicted Recreational Cannabis Use in Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Infortuna

Silvestro

Crenshaw

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The use of cannabis among college students is increasing. Cannabis abuse has been proposed to be associated with personality dimensions. However, there are currently no known studies on the relationship of temperament traits and recreational cannabis use among college students. This is a cross-sectional study that investigated 328 students at a Podiatric Medical College. We evaluated the association between temperament and recreational cannabis use by the students. Temperament was investigated using the Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Auto- Questionnaire (TEMPS-A (short version)). Additionally, we assessed demographics variables and perceived stress in the context of cannabis use, and analyzed the findings using logistic regression. The prevalence of recreational cannabis use was 8.45%. Recreational cannabis use among these students was highly associated with irritable and cyclothymic temperament traits. There was no association between recreational cannabis use and perceived stress, and demographic variables or other substance use. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis indicated that higher scores in cyclothymic or irritable temperament traits are significant predictors for recreational cannabis use. Our study has identified key temperament traits, with a strong association with recreational use of cannabis of the studied student population. Our findings are useful in designing screening and educational strategies directed towards increasing the wellbeing of medical students.

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Prevalence of Cannabis Use Among Medical Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Cited by 34 publications

References 48 publications

Self-Reported Illicit Drug Use Among Norwegian University and College Students. Associations With Age, Gender, and Geography

Self-Reported Illicit Drug Use Among Norwegian University and College Students. Associations With Age, Gender, and Geography

Alcohol and Cannabis Intake in Nursing Students

Affective Temperament Traits and Age-Predicted Recreational Cannabis Use in Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

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